Time Watch

View from the Floor – BaselWorld and SIHH

The BaselWorld and SIHH shows were busier than ever, with both cities, Basel and Geneva, bursting at the seams with companies showing their product. It was hard narrowing down just a few companies to report on given all the great new watches featured at the spring shows, but some of them are included here.

>> Keith W. Strandberg, Watch Editor

First to BaselWorld
I love BaselWorld, all the hustle and bustle, the hurrying between the booths. But most of all, I love looking at all the new watches. Here is my selection of five interesting brands from Basel.

Maurice Lacroix
The most intriguing launch at BaselWorld was the revolutionary, yet mysterious, Maurice Lacroix Memoire1. A fascinating concept, this mechanical chronograph has a memory. This means that when timing something, you can switch between standard timekeeping and the chronograph, without needing to stop the chronograph and losing any time. In addition, the watch will remember the last chronograph time indefinitely, until you clear it. I had only a glimpse of the watch, and was unable to even touch it, but more information is on the way.

In addition to the Memoire1, Maurice Lacroix extended its in-house Le Chronograph movement into its regular line, and introduced new watches in the Masterpiece (Jour Retrograde and Phase de Lune) and Pontos (DeCentrique in stainless steel, 47mm Chrono Valgrange) lines. I was particularly intrigued by the ML new Masterpiece Skeleton, with a tinted bezel.

Hamilton
Hamilton has been turning heads the last few years, and this year was no different. It used to be primarily a vintage brand, updating and releasing “vintage” styled timepieces, trading on its legitimate watchmaking history. But that wasn't enough for the current management, run by Matthias Breschan, who saw an opportunity to continue the Hamilton tradition of innovation.

One example is the Ventura Anniversary Limited Edition. The Ventura was the first electronic watch ever made, introduced in 1957. To commemorate its 50 years, Hamilton came out with a larger limited edition mechanical with an open dial giving a watch that is both modern in size and orientation, but with the history.

This year the Hamilton Khaki Action 44mm is the new talking piece. Equipped with an automatic chronograph, it makes a strong statement and backs it up with water resistance to 200 meters. Also worth mentioning is the limited edition black and rose gold X-Wind and the Khaki SeaQueen, a very attractive ladies watch, complete with hanging charm.

Milus
As a relatively new brand in the USA, Milus is attacking the market in a big way, with a combination of innovative products and unique advertising. Its campaign features models with their eyes closed, an interesting and eye-catching (pun fully intended) series of ads.

Launched in November 2006 in the USA, Milus is focusing on unique timepieces like the Milus Herios TriRetrograde and the Milus Merea TriRetrograde.

The brand’s goal is to bring out quality Swiss timepieces for men and women, with a collection of mechanical watches designed especially for the ladies. The company wants to take a leading position in speaking to the new awareness women have for fine timepieces.

Continued....

1 | 2 | 3